Review by Booklist Review
What makes soldiers kill--or not--animates this intriguing survey by a psychologist and former U.S. Army officer. Grossman reveals that only a fraction of soldiers kill during warfare (and feel revulsion when they do); the rest (about 85 percent in World War II) resist by missing the target or refusing to fire. With an eye to the military command's imperative of overcoming that innate resistance, Grossman quotes numerous anecdotes that exemplify the phenomenon and studies that examine it. With such knowledge, the military has implemented training that gets firing rates up to 90 percent of soldiers, but the psychic cost of blazing away for real is heavy. Individually, a killer goes through thrill-remorse-rationalization stages; socially, the killer needs reassurance and if it is not received, will suffer post-traumatic stress syndrome, characteristic of Vietnam veterans. Grossman concludes his findings of "enabling factors" in killing by identifying them at work in the rampant violence afflicting American society. A book that requires some steely fortitude to finish, but once done, On Killing delivers insights on human nature that are both gratifying and repelling. --Gilbert Taylor
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Drawing on interviews, published personal accounts and academic studies, Grossman investigates the psychology of killing in combat. Stressing that human beings have a powerful, innate resistance to the taking of life, he examines the techniques developed by the military to overcome that aversion. His provocative study focuses in particular on the Vietnam war, revealing how the American soldier was ``enabled to kill to a far greater degree than any other soldier in history.'' Grossman argues that the breakdown of American society, combined with the pervasive violence in the media and interactive video games, is conditioning our children to kill in a manner siimilar to the army's conditioning of soldiers: ``We are reaching that stage of desensitization at which the infliction of pain and suffering has become a source of entertainment: vicarious pleasure rather than revulsion. We are learning to kill, and we are learning to like it.'' Grossman, a professor of military science at Arkansas State University, has written a study of relevance to a society of escalating violence. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Grossman (psychology, West Point) presents three important hypotheses: 1) That humans possess the reluctance to kill their own kind; 2) that this reluctance can be systematically broken down by use of standard conditioning techniques; and 3) that the reaction of "normal" (e.g., non-psychopathic) soliders to having killed in close combat can be best understood as a series of "stages" similar to the ubiquitous Kübler-Ross stages of reaction to life-threatening disease. While some of the evidence to support his theories have been previously presented by military historians (most notably, John Keegan), this systematic examination of the individual soldier's behavior, like all good scientific theory making, leads to a series of useful explanations for a variety of phenomena, such as the high rate of post traumatic stress disorders among Vietnam veterans, why the rate of aggravated assault continues to climb, and why civilian populations that have endured heavy bombing in warfare do not have high incidents of mental illness. This important book deserves a wide readership. Essential for all libraries serving military personnel or veterans, including most public libraries.-Mary Ann Hughes, Neill P.L., Pullman, Wash. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Some perceptive, original ideas can be dredged out of this awkwardly written, haphazardly annotated treatise on the psychological forces that come into play in killing on the battlefield. Grossman is not shy about repeatedly describing himself and his credentials as ``a psychologist who is also a historian and a career soldier,'' having served two decades in the Army. He certainly brings a wealth of experience and diverse perspectives to this book, but despite his 20 years of military service, Grossman has not killed in combat. On the other hand, he has interviewed many men who have and has studied the literature about the psychology of killing and its aftermath. Despite his strident tone, Grossman imparts a few insightful ideas about his difficult subject. His main achievement is clearly spelling out what he calls ``society's unspoken conspiracy of deception that glorifies killing and war.'' The author shows the extremely unpleasant nature of war by illuminating the ``emotional reactions and underlying processes'' that result in the often longlasting psychological damage that befalls soldiers who kill other human beings on the battlefield. He explains that it is entirely normal when those who, in battle, have overcome our innate resistance to killing experience postwar adjustment problems, including remorse and guilt (though he notes distinct differences between those who kill at close range and those, like bomber pilots, who kill at a distance). Grossman's most valuable section is his reiteration of the special problems faced by Vietnam veterans, who came home to an often indifferent and sometimes antagonistic reception. ``Only the veterans of Vietnam,'' the author rightly points out, ``have endured a concerted, organized, psychological attack by their own people.'' A reader-unfriendly look at an unpleasant but important subject. (16 charts, not seen) (Author tour)
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